Yasuhiro Ogawa (小川 泰弘)

This one is a little late in the news department, but a few weeks ago Yakult Swallows pitcher Yasuhiro Ogawa won the Rookie of the Year Award. He was fantastic the time I saw him pitch in Hiroshima.

Why is he throwing on the sidelines even though he is a starting pitcher you ask? In both Japan and Korea, starting pitchers throw when their team is at bat. Unlike MLB, in which pitchers are held to strict pitch counts (usually around 100 pitches), these starting pitchers in Japan and Korea frequently throw more than 200 pitches if you count their bullpen and foul territory pitches.

Posted on December 2nd, 2013 under Japan. Tags: baseball, hiroshima, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600, sports photography, yakult swallows. Comments Off on Yasuhiro Ogawa (小川 泰弘) wins 2013 Rookie of the Year Award in the Central League

Chris Seddon

I mentioned previously that all of the foreign players (limit 2 per team) in Korea are pitchers. I think there was at least one foreign pitcher who played in every one of the half dozen games I went to. Chris Seddon was one of them, pitching against the Lotte Giants. Chris played for the Marlins, Mariners, and Indians in the bigs before landing in Korea.

Notice the chewed up infield in the above photo. This despite the fact that Busan is supposed to have the best stadium in Korea.

Posted on November 27th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: baseball, busan, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600, sajik baseball stadium, sports photography. Comments Off on Chris Seddon of the SK Wyverns

Andrew McCutchen

Posted on November 14th, 2013 under Other. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, baseball, los angeles, nikon d7000, sports photography. Comments Off on Andrew McCutchen wins 2013 NL MVP Award

My random, desktop image of the day turned out to be this one. Weird, no? The last time the Red Sox won a World Series at home in Fenway Park was 1918. Will they do it again tonight?

Posted on October 30th, 2013 under Other. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, baseball, boston, fenway park, flag, nikon d7000. Comments Off on Will today be the day?

KIA K3 Home Run Zone (Gwangju, ROK)

I’m not sure if they will continue this tradition in the new Gwangju baseball stadium, but in the old stadium if a player hit a home run in which the ball hit the car beyond the stands in left field the player was awarded the car after the game. I was at one such game when Na Ji-Wan (나지완) hit the car. I asked the guy next to me if the car given to the player came with or without the dent, and he laughed.

Posted on October 29th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: baseball, gwangju, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600, sports photography. Comments Off on Home Run Zone